Champions League Review

 

 

The 1^st stages of the champions’ league this season had to be 1 of the most mind-numbingly boring phases that we have seen in a long time as a lot of the games were either 1-sided or just plain dire.

 

Group A

 

This started with a bang and ended in a whimper as eyebrows were raised around the world when previously unheralded Cluj of Romania went to Rome and deservedly beat Roam 2-1. The other game should have been an indication of what was to come when Chelsea manager, Felipe Scolari was unhappy with his team after they had defeated Bordeaux 4-0.

 

If he could be unhappy with winning with that score then how will Laurent Blanc be feeling? But any chances of getting an upset from this group was quickly extinguished when in the next game Roma went to Bordeaux to defeat the home side 3-1 but it has to be said that the match hinged on Bordeaux having a player sent off just before half time while leading 1-0 because up till then they were by far the better side.

 

Normality being established it was just a matter of which side would win the group and who would finish runners-up. Chelsea were favorites to win the group but a terrible away record consigned them to the runners-up spot with Roma without doing anything special and looking decidedly shaky in some games managed to win the group.

 

Group B

 

This was supposed to be easy pickings for favorites Inter Milan but they were so poor in every game that even manager Jose Mourinho groaned that they did not deserve to qualify. He actually contributed to their poor performances with his very defensive lineups.

 

This was not a bad group in terms of surprises but the quality of football was very poor and I must say that I am saddened that the surprise element of the group, Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus came last in the group as they provided the thrills in the group with Werder Bremen being the most disappointing team in the group.

 

Group C

 

This was just a procession for Barcelona as they romped to victory after victory with high scores in a lot of their games. They looked great in this group and a lot of people have installed them as favorites. Though I would like them to win it, they did qualify from a very weak group so much so that there are far more deserving sides than Sporting Lisbon in the 2^nd round.

 

This group also had possibly the most inept side in the competition as Basel were just hopeless.

 

Group D

 

This from the day the draw was made only had 2 teams with any chance of qualifying and so it proved as Marseille just do not have the ability to step up and PSV get worse every year.

 

Liverpool unsurprisingly won the group but Atletico Madrid did better than I thought they would and deserve praise.

 

Group E

 

This was the worst group of the lot with the 2 teams that qualified only winning 2 matches as Manchester United and Villarreal made heavy weather of qualification.

 

It was so bad that after 4 games and with only 1 goal scored in those games, Celtic incredibly still had a chance to qualify that I found absolutely amazing.

 

Group F

 

This was quite possibly the best group with Lyon being my most improved team from last season and surprise package because I thought they were on the downward slope.

 

Bayern were very good as well and the games between these 2 and Fiorentina were very exciting indeed. Bayern qualified as winners but Lyon could easily have been the winners of the group as they played some good football.

 

Group G

 

This was another group that was nothing to write home about when the draw was made and turned out that way in reality.

 

Fenerbahce were just a major disappointment and did not give the top 2 any kind of competition at all. Dinamo Kiev were better than they were last year but still not good enough while Porto performed better than I thought they would.

 

Group H

 

This on paper was meant to be hardest of the lot but the form of Zenit ST Petersburg made sure that it did not turn out that way as they were most disappointing team in the competition as far as I am concerned.

 

They have never been able to defend but in this competition it was their finishing that was awful.

 

Juventus turned out to be the biggest surprise as they took the game by the scruff of the net with Real Madrid just flattering to deceive most of the time.

 

BATE deserved more than coming last but in the end they paid the price for not finishing a lot of their good play as in the 2^nd game they had Juventus on the ropes but their defending left a lot to be desired and allowed the Italians back for a draw when they were 2-0 up.

 

All in all it was a very disappointing group stage so much so that by the last set of matches, only Groups A had 3 teams with the possibility of qualifying.